


Howling at the Moon

by ArtisticVicu



Series: Assorted Prompt Writings [15]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Rescue, world building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:47:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26639800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtisticVicu/pseuds/ArtisticVicu
Summary: She knew things. She knew things that no human should ever know, yet she did. And now, because of these things that she knew, she was being dragged across the universe to another planet simply because what she knew was of value to him. Not that she was complaining. He had saved her life - countless times now - so it only seemed fair that she told him what he wanted to know. If he was against them, she was all for telling him everything she knew and fully committing to helping him when she was done.
Series: Assorted Prompt Writings [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1684657





	Howling at the Moon

She landed hard on the other side of the portal, his arms still securely around her. He cussed in that guttural language of his as she sucked in a breath and choked on it.

“Damnit,” he snarled near her ear as noise filled wherever they were at. Choking on the air she was breathing, she shoved at him, at the hands on her, desperate for space to breathe but he wasn’t unmoving. Voices filled the noise and she finally registered that others had arrived. “I can but I need a synthesizer.” His voice sounded strange. It rumbled more than it was supposed to. It wasn’t till he shifted under her that she realized he had her against his chest awkwardly upright. “Here,” he urged, his voice loud despite the volume not changing as he shoved something against her face. “Try this till we get a synth on you.”

The mask smelled awful but the first pull of breath cleared the choking immediately. She inhaled greedily for the few seconds it took to calm her system back down. He moved around her, a rumbled, “Thanks,” accompanying his movement. “Let’s get this situated on you.”

She supported herself as he handled what looked to be a bulky collar. It took a second before she realized what it reminded her of. She pressed her left hand against the piece on his chest that was part of the accessory he wore that wasn’t quite a necklace but shaped as one. She felt his chuckle through her hand. “Exactly,” he confirmed, getting the older model to cooperate. “Unfortunately, all we have are old ones but it should work just the same. Here.”

The piece was heavy but nothing she couldn’t deal with. She hoped. Oddly enough, it was heaviest on her chest rather than her shoulders like she expected, but it wasn’t heavy towards the ground. It was like gravity had rotated for the part on her chest so that it was drawn to some point in her chest or beyond it, making it feel like someone was pressing their hand into her chest. He worked the mechanism closed behind her neck without having her move meaning at least one arm was in her face. She couldn’t smell him through the mask. “Don’t remove that mask until I say. I have to get it set to the right atmosphere.”

Her gaze wandered over what he wasn’t physically obscuring. Wherever they had been dumped, they were surrounded by people. There was a large number that looked like him, that seemed to share his species. The rest were a wide variety looking like things she never thought actually existed.

She wasn’t sure if she was surprised or not finding she was the only human.

“Alright,” he offered, his voice cautious. He pulled back enough to look at her. “Try that.”

She pulled the mask from her face and took a breath. The smells hit her first but she didn’t immediately start coughing. She breathed normally, waiting.

Nothing happened.

She looked up at him, nodding. “We’re good, as far as I can tell. May take a while before any negative impacts show.”

He nodded, getting her to her feet. “By then we’ll have gotten you a proper one and checked over.” He placed his hands on her shoulders, keeping her close to his front. “Skra.”

One of the stranger looking people stepped forward. “Yeah, Boss.”

“Go let Surge know I need a new model prepped for a being from AE206.” The person nodded - or bowed? She couldn’t tell - and hurried off as his attention moved others. “B’trel, Kors. Let Lady Vetalia know I’ve returned with company. She’ll want to know who it is but tell her she has to come to me to find out. I’m trusting you to stand strong against her.”

“Understood.” “Right, Boss.” A duo hurried off, one looking like his species. The other was...strange.

They were all strange, honestly, but she supposed that was a lack of exposure than actual fact.

“Tellran, get Sri. Tell them I want to see them at medical in ten minutes. Hyrn, get there before us. Ask for an isolated room. Tell them nothing more than I’ve requested it for private use.”

“On it,” was offered by one as two others dashed off. The crowd had thinned significantly.

“Neris, stay. The rest of you back to duties. If I hear word’s gotten out, I know who I’m skinning.”

There was a chorus of affirmations and assurances as all but one body left. The last being’s tail swayed back and forth calmly, yellow eyes on the both of them. “Do you have anything she can wear that’ll hide her for the time being.”

The tail gave a sharp flick as the being blinked. “Probably, but I doubt it will be enough to disguise her for long.”

“I’m not worried about that. As long as it’ll last through medical, that’s all I care about.”

Another sharp flick but the being had tipped their head in thought. “I need two minutes.”

“You have three.”

The figure dashed off. He sighed, his touch slackening on her shoulders. She looked up at him finally. “You could always save yourself the headache and send me back.”

He laughed at that before giving her a toothy grin. “After I went through all the trouble to drag you here? I don’t think so.”

He put pressure at the center of her back, directing her through the hallway. The entire place seemed to be made of metal, like it was some sort of underground world. She kept her eyes on the structure of the world around her as she pointed out, “Can they all really be trusted?”

His hand moved to her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I trust them with my life.”

She raised an eyebrow at that. “I highly doubt my life has any equivalence.”

He gave her a toothy grin. “Oh, it doesn’t. You are far more valuable than I am.” She smacked his side at that, gaining a bout of laughter from him. Silence settled between them for a short moment after before he spoke again. “They will be discrete and follow orders. They have no reason to question any of it and no one here would know your significance. Not yet, at least.”

“Thus the need for discretion.”

An affirming hum escaped his chest. “I wouldn’t put it past them to have word out for you here in an hour, if not sooner.”

“Is that possible?”

He shrugged. “Whether it is or isn’t doesn’t matter. We have to act as if it is. Will make it easier in the long run.”

The hallway ended but the walkway didn’t. He kept walking and she followed out onto a suspended walkway. The majority of the view was taken up by massive buildings but what she could see had her coming to a stop.

“Do you….” she started, unsure how to ask it. “Is it a sort of cloud cover or is your sun and sky always like that?”

Beyond the right hand railing the horizon was visible, as was a good chunk of sky and a hardy amount of the city they were apparently in. The way the sun was faint in the sky reminded her of the sun from her planet being obscured by clouds enough to cut the brilliance of the sun without completely negating the light. But this was different. Instead of the clouds she was used to, the entire sky was a dusty tan color and the sun was still a pinprick of concentrate light, though diluted by whatever was in the atmosphere.

“There’s a layer of cloud in our atmosphere that is unchanging. Weather clouds occur under it but it never changes density.”

It reminded her of a ceiling and she wondered if the faint pinprick of a sun shining through would be enough to keep her sane while she was there. “Strange.”

“It’s what is.” His hand went to her back again and he urged her on. “You’ll get used to it.”

As they crossed the last of the walkway, she tried seeing if she could feel this sun’s light on her skin. It wasn’t till they crossed the threshold into the new hallway that she could tell. It was faint but it was there. It would be enough if she needed it.

“Boss.” They stopped, turning to look back at the person that had come up behind them. She racked her brain for a name.

“Neris,” he spoke, sounding pleased. That was it.

The person offered the neatly folded bundle. “This should be sufficient enough to get them through medical.”

“Excellent. Go help B’trel and Kors with Lady Vetalia. She should be needing a lead by this point.” The person nodded before taking off back the way they had come. She watched them leave as he shook out the bundle. “Good. This’ll do perfectly. Here. Put this on.”

It looked to be similar to a ruana with an additional hood piece. The ruana piece was massive and counted more for a blanket on her than a garment of clothing but his hands were sure as he draped it over her shoulders lopsided so that he could pull the longer side over the other shoulder. She wasn’t sure it would stay like that but he pulled the hood piece over her head. The hood itself wasn’t overly large. It kept close to her head but extended enough in front and over her face that her features would be partially obscured. The rest of the fabric of the hood piece covered her shoulders and the top of her torso. If the weight was anything to go by, the back was longer than the front and stopped somewhere mid back.

“Excessive,” she muttered.

“Effective,” he corrected. “It’s going to get cold the deeper we go for you.”

She frowned at him. “Won’t it for you too?” She distinctly remembered him shivering right along with her when they had to wait in the cold building.

That toothy grin was back. “Oh most definitely but there’ll be things for me to wear. This way we don’t have to get you something on top of hiding just what you are.”

He took the lead. The ruana was heavy around her but the while the stretch of fabric came to her ankles all the way around, it didn’t impede her movement. It also didn’t get hot. It got warm, but not hot.

That could be from the air of the space itself, though. She could feel it nipping at her face like a winter breeze and watched as he gave a full body shudder. “Seems like they’re keeping the whole place an icebox now,” he growled out, not sounding pleased.

For a stretch they walked in silence, just the two of them. But then the hallway opened into what was clearly a very popular thoroughfare and the lack of talking came from the ears that could overhear. He cut a path through the crowd with ease and it wasn’t long before people were stepping out of his way long before he reached them. She kept step behind him, staying close and keeping her gaze on his back. She can ogle at the world later.

The density of the crowd fluctuated but there was always another body on the route they walked. She wondered if there had been a path they could have taken to avoid all the people.

The hallways they walked through gradually got narrower. The final hallway they ended up in was barely wide enough to walk abreast with someone. Most coming towards them stopped and put their backs to the wall. He was bulkier than most and barely left any room for those walking the hallway to pass. Still, he would turn his torso as he passed them, giving some acknowledgement as he gave them what space he could offer as he passed.

The entrance for medical was in this narrow, seemingly endless hallway, and when he turned and stepped through the doorway, it startled her. She followed suit regardless and found it to be a hive of activity. There were good spirits but some of those there looked to be in pretty bad state, be it from injury or illness.hyrn tellran sri 

“Boss.” Three bodies cut through the crowd towards him. The forward most was the one he had sent ahead to medical. Something about asking for an isolated room. “This way.”

The one in the back was the one he had sent after somebody, leaving the middle person to be that somebody.

That somebody did not look pleased. “Why did you have Tellran wake me?” the person asked, the words biting without actually snapping at him. “Vex is capable of handling anything you need assistance with.”

He reached out, placing a hand on the person’s shoulder. “Trust me, Sri. If I could have avoided getting you involved, I would have.” He focused on the one that had spoken, still following their lead through the maze of hallways. “How far, Hyrn?”

“Just a few more doors.”

“Do you still need me, Boss?” the one that had fallen into step beside her inquired.

They gained his gaze. “For now.” That gaze flickered to her. “Keep an eye on her for me for the time being.”

Had the situation not been so serious, she probably would have been annoyed but after seeing so many people and knowing just what he was protecting her from, she happily accepted whatever aid he gave her, even if she didn’t know or fully trust the person herself.

“Here, Boss,” the person leading spoke, stopping at a door.

He reached back and made sure she entered after the Sri person. The one keeping an eye on her kept pace . He entered after all of them, barring the one at the door who stayed outside and closed the door behind him.

“Take the pieces off. Let Sri check you over,” he directed at her. “I want to make sure that you’re not injured.”

She pulled the hood piece off first. There was a sharp intake of breath from the one he had told to keep an eye on her. His eyes narrowed at the person, for Sri had only narrowed their eyes. “There a problem, Tellran?”

“No, Boss,” Tellran offered, voice sure, unwavering. “Just surprised.”

She frowned at that as she pulled the ruana off, rolling it before passing it and the hood piece to him. “I take it that’s more of things I don’t really know.”

He nodded, turning his attention to Sri. “You are able to check her over, correct?”

Those narrowed eyes turned to glare at him. “Of course, but I do not like the implication of one of them here.”

She frowned at that as he shrugged. “Regardless, she’s here and needs to be checked over. She’s an asset I want to stay living if at all possible.”

Sri waved him off and approached her. Their expression softened, though it still looked severe. “Do you have a name, child?”

She glanced at him. He simply arched an eyebrow at her. “Illa,” she gave, the nickname enough for now.

“Alright, Illa. Let’s get you checked over.”

The process was rather quiet for the first of it. Sri had her strip down further to make sure the clothes weren’t hiding any injuries. Beyond a number of scraps and bruises, she was fine. Sri poked at a few bruises and put some ointment on the scraps that needed them, coaxing the details to their origin during the menial task.

She hadn’t thought much of the answers till she caught sight of him watching her as she dressed. There was a look in those eyes that, though she knew he was no danger to her, made her uneasy. She had no qualms with him knowing but to see the righteous fury on her behave was off putting. Thankfully Sri took his attention by speaking. “Outside of the expected scraps and bruises from what she’s been through, she’s got a clean bill of health.” Sri finished scribbling something down before glaring at him. “Now, why exactly is she here. You know the risk of her presence here, not to mention what else could come after her.”

He seemed to brush Sri’s concern off leaning back in his chair. “I am aware of the risks. They’re nothing compared to what we gain from her.”

Sri’s expression flattened. “You speak as if she is nothing more than an object to be used.”

“At this point, I wouldn’t care if that were the case,” she spoke to Sri. He shifted oddly in her peripheral but when she glanced at him, he had simply sat forward. “This is better than the alternative, at least.”

“Mmmm, you are not wrong,” Sri ceded before returning their gaze to him. “Is there any reason for me to remain now?”

There was a knock on the door before he could respond. Instead, he called to the door. “Come in.”

The door opened to reveal a new stranger with the one of the originals she had seen. He stood, stepping towards the door. “Surge. Did you bring it?” The new stranger grinned, holding up a slimmer version of the synthesizer she already wore. His back was to her but she could hear the grin. “Excellent. Thank you, Skra.” The one from before nodded - or bowed; she still couldn’t tell - and left, dismissed. The door closed behind the new stranger. “Fit it to her.”

The stranger approached her. Despite the instinct to move away, she stood rigid still for the new stranger. She hated how they stepped so close to her front that her nose almost brushed against their chest. The second set of hands stroked at her neck unnecessarily but before she could get a word out - before she could even react - both sets of hands were gone. The stranger was thrown across the room into the wall. It said something about his behavior that the door handle remained untouched.

He stood between her and the stranger and the violated feeling ebbed some. “Only the collar or you will regret ever answering my summons.”

The stranger was quaking, hands close to their chest, as they gave very quick, almost aggressive nods that they understood. She wondered if the stranger was mute or simply not speaking.

This time the stranger walked around her. She didn’t even feel them and while that was off putting in and of itself, he was standing before her eyes on the stranger. If the stranger did anything, he would follow through with his threat. She knew enough to know it had not been an idle threat. The old synthesizer slipped from her neck and for a moment, she panicked. But when her hand pressed into her chest where it had rested, she pressed the new one into her chest. She stared down at it, surprised.

“How does it feel?” he asked.

“Like it’s not even there.” She looked up at him, confused. “Does yours feel weightless?”

He nodded before turning a glare on the stranger. “As much as I want to kick you out, I have need for your knowledge. Go sit near Tellran.” The stranger scurried off. She didn’t miss Tellran moving away from the stranger when the stranger settled. “Illa.” She looked to him. “I need you to tell me what you know of the Dyurn.”

There was a noise from the stranger - something like a squeaky squawk - but it was forgotten as Sri stepped forward, glaring at him. “You cannot be seriously asking her about that. She wouldn’t even know what that is!”

“They have a mark on their body generally left visible that looks like a cat **howling at the moon**?” she clarified. He started laughing, the sound more of a bark than a genuine laugh. She grinned even as she defended herself. “What? You’re going to tell me I’m wrong?”

“Not necessarily,” Sri spoke up as he apparently lost it, sitting back down. “Though I think they prefer something more striking than a cat.”

She shrugged. “But that is the Dyurn, correct? Those marked with the howling moon.”

“Yes, that’s correct,” he assured her, coming down from his giggle fit. The grin he sent her was vicious. “Tell me everything you know about them.”


End file.
